Tracker Pixel for Entry

Blitzen Trapper’s new gooves

Music | October 3rd, 2013

By Diane Miller

One of Portland’s most popular bands, Blitzen Trapper, is heading to Fargo this Thursday, Oct. 10. It’s expected to be one of the bigger shows at The Aquarium this year.

Since the releases of their highly acclaimed albums “Wild Mountain Nation” and “Furr,” Blitzen Trapper have consistently become less indie-Americana rock only to become more country roots. The band’s new sound is at times quirky and slightly uninviting. Other times they sound cool, collected and catchy.

Whatever they are doing, it seems to be working toward their success. Perhaps it’s because Earley is such a strong leader. He is an intelligent lyricist and a character-driven singer-songwriter.

“I just write about what is going on in my life or whatever I think about,” Earley said. “It’s a pretty natural sort of thing I guess. I don’t have to try to write songs. I just do my thing.”

The band has been together since 2000. Earley said Blitzen Trapper’s first official release was 2007’s “Wild Mountain Nation” though there are two other records that came before it. So altogether the band has released eight records, including their latest, “VII,” which was just released last Monday, Sept. 30.

As far as what is new about this record according to Earley: “It has a lot more dance grooves and beats … Lyrically it’s evolved quite a bit. It’s got more storytelling.”

The new record also has more down-home instrumentation (banjo, harmonica and slide guitar) shrewdly mixed with subtle electronic elements and instrumentation.

“Shine On,” track two off the album, is especially significant with its mix of hip beats and gospel singing featuring a vocalist Earley met through his church, Liz Vice.

Other key tracks off “VII” include the gritty opening number “Feel The Chill” and the wishy-washy “Oregon Geography,” which at times doesn’t even feel or sound like an actual tune.

Earley’s voice especially seems to be an evolving element of Blitzen Trapper. He’s sounding a lot less like Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes and a little more like The Heartbreakers’ Tom Petty. He still sings with great character though he sounds more like a no nonsense rambler as compared to his earlier, more vulnerable singing style particularly heard on Blitzen Trapper’s 2008 song “Furr,” which is undoubtedly a fan favorite.

Blitzen Trapper fans who enjoy the band for their more raw and rambling country style will especially enjoy their latest album and their show here next Thursday.

Earley recalled the band’s last show in Fargo three years ago: “Last time there was a tornado that came through or something. Yeah it was crazy. They had sirens going off and on the TV it was like an emergency broadcast. We walked by to pack the van and listened to Black Sabbath and watched the trees bending over ... They were like stay inside everyone. (laughs) I guess it came within five or six miles of town.”

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Blitzen Trapper w/ Elliott Brood

WHERE: Aquarium, 226 Broadway, Fargo

WHEN: Thurs., Oct. 10, 9 p.m. (Doors @ 8 p.m.)

HOW MUCH: $16 advance, $18 door

INFO: Purchase @ Orange Records or ticketweb.com

Recently in:

By Winona LaDukewinona@winonaladuke.com The business of Indian Hating is a lucrative one. It’s historically been designed to dehumanize Native people so that it’s easier to take their land. ‘Kill the Indian, save the man,”…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.eduI was pleased to visit with many colleagues and at the Germans from Russia Heritage Society Convention in Mandan in July, and at the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia…

October 4-20, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.Theatre B, 210 10th St. N in MoorheadThis funny, earnest and hopeful play is a breath of fresh air heading into election season. Playwright Heidi Schreck paid for her…

Happy 30th Birthday HPRBy John Strandjas@hpr1.comThirty years ago some gutsy UND student journalists hanging at Whitey’s in East Grand Forks got enough liquid courage to create their own damn newspaper. Then with drinks raised,…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhere will the homeless go when billionaires go to their bunkers?Icelanders are living almost on top of volcanos but are cooled by ice, snow, and placid attitudes while hiding a keen sense of…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com Like any metropolitan area, Fargo-Moorhead has a plethora of radio stations representing a variety of musical genres and other content. And like any other playing field in the world of…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s sophomore feature “Dandelion” is now playing in theaters following a world premiere at South by Southwest in March. The movie stars KiKi Layne as the…

By HPR Contributorssubmit@hpr1.com They are the inventive, passionate, adaptable, resourceful, sometimes over-enthusiastic, wack-tacular people who create art in our community, and they’re opening their studio doors to you for…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Jim Fugliejimfuglie920@gmail.com“The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers.”You might recall that memorable line, uttered by Dick the Butcher, from perhaps the least memorable of Shakespeare’s plays, “Henry…